Agency not paying back-dated pay

randomfandom

The agency I temp with is withholding backdated pay increases for the previous financial year - 2017/18. Initially, in June last year we were notified that they would pay the outstanding amount 'as soon as possible'. Then that changed to by the end of the calendar year, which then got shifted to January 2019. January came and went and still no sign of the payment.


I've spoken to the person at the agency who is tasked with dealing with this matter and whilst they are apologetic, I just feel fobbed off with one excuse after another, and don't feel I am getting anywhere.


Meanwhile, there has been another hourly increase for the whole of the current financial year. They started to pay the new rate in December, however that leaves around 7 months - April to December - where the increase is now outstanding.


Part of my concern is that if I leave the agency, will I still be entitled to the back-dated pay increase?


Also and somewhat curiously, I've been told that when the money is actually paid, they will issue a separate payslip that, rather than breaking down the payment by number of hours as one might expect, it will just show the money as 'Bonus', when it most definitely isn't a bonus.



Does anyone have any advice about how to get this issue resolved, preferably, quickly?

jonnygee2

Why are they offering you backdated pay increases in the first place? Were they paying under minimum wage?

Were you notified in writing?

randomfandom

jonnygee2 wrote: »

Why are they offering you backdated pay increases in the first place? Were they paying under minimum wage?

Were you notified in writing?

No, they weren't paying minimum wage. What happens is that when the permanent staff receive an annual pay increase, the temps should then be awarded a commensurate amount.

The increases for the temporary workers have been agreed by the employer that contracts the agency so that eventually, our hourly rate is adjusted. But because it doesn't happen immediately, it results in months in each financial year in which the increases become outstanding and thus backdated pay owed by the agency.

jonnygee2

No, they weren't paying minimum wage. What happens is that when the permanent staff receive an annual pay increase, the temps should then be awarded a commensurate amount.

The increases for the temporary workers have been agreed by the employer that contracts the agency so that eventually, our hourly rate is adjusted. But because it doesn't happen immediately, it results in months in each financial year in which the increases become outstanding and thus backdated pay owed by the agency.

So these wage increases are written into your contract with them?

Sorry, just trying to clarify the extent to which these are clear-cut underpayments, instead of some kind of 'bonus' etc that the agency could wriggle out of / dispute if they wanted to.

If the payments are contractual, then leaving won't make any difference, they will still owe them to you.

jobbingmusician

Do you have a contract with this agency? (You can ask them for a copy of the contract with you if you don't - presumably you signed SOMETHING.)

What does this contract say about when you will be paid?

You say 'Initially, in June last year we were notified that they would pay the outstanding amount 'as soon as possible'. Then that changed to by the end of the calendar year, which then got shifted to January 2019. January came and went and still no sign of the payment.' Were these promises made in writing?

Depending on the answers to the above, I would suggest you send a letter before action, labelled as such, to the company in question, with a clear deadline for payment. If no payment is forthcoming, this should then be followed up by a MCOL. This will cost you a small amount, but of course you will add this to the claim, together with interest on the amount owed.

randomfandom

jobbingmusician wrote: »

Do you have a contract with this agency? (You can ask them for a copy of the contract with you if you don't - presumably you signed SOMETHING.)

What does this contract say about when you will be paid?

You say 'Initially, in June last year we were notified that they would pay the outstanding amount 'as soon as possible'. Then that changed to by the end of the calendar year, which then got shifted to January 2019. January came and went and still no sign of the payment.' Were these promises made in writing?

Depending on the answers to the above, I would suggest you send a letter before action, labelled as such, to the company in question, with a clear deadline for payment. If no payment is forthcoming, this should then be followed up by a MCOL. This will cost you a small amount, but of course you will add this to the claim, together with interest on the amount owed.

The contract just talks about being paid weekly. I'm on a rolling contract that gets renewed every few months. Sometimes they issue a confirmation in writing of contract start and end dates, along with the hourly rate, and sometimes they don't.


Yes, the agency sent emails, but they were vague in their wording i.e 'as soon as possible' and 'we hope to pay you by end of X month.'

randomfandom

jonnygee2 wrote: »

So these wage increases are written into your contract with them?

Sorry, just trying to clarify the extent to which these are clear-cut underpayments, instead of some kind of 'bonus' etc that the agency could wriggle out of / dispute if they wanted to.

If the payments are contractual, then leaving won't make any difference, they will still owe them to you.

No, we don't get bonuses. The emails sent to always refer to 'backdated payments'. As I said in my opening post, it's an increase to the hourly rate, but they don't start paying the new rate at the start of the financial year, which how the backdated payment have arisen.

stator

Why not ask the contractor whether they have made the payments to the agency or not?

randomfandom

stator wrote: »

Why not ask the contractor whether they have made the payments to the agency or not?

I did and they said that they had been signed off some time ago.

stator

What does 'signed off' mean?
You need to know if the actual money has been transferred to the agency to make the payments.

randomfandom

stator wrote: »

What does 'signed off' mean?
You need to know if the actual money has been transferred to the agency to make the payments.

'Signed off' means that the company has formally agreed the hours and the amounts payable with the agency. The stumbling block now is that the agency says they thought they'd be able to raise one purchase order for everyone but were only told in late January by the company they would have to raise individual ones for each member of staff.

To be honest, I find this excuse somewhat dubious as they also had to pay underpayments in 2016/2017 so they should already know what the procedure is.